Electronic Health Reporter

Over-the-counter refers to the medications available to you without the doctor’s prescription and can be bought without hesitation. These medications are beneficial in curing common illnesses and disorders that may occur regularly. You might want to keep these in stock as cuts and wounds, common cold and body pain, as common as they come, may still disrupt some of your days.

To prevent/cure any of your illnesses, make sure you have a bunch of these medications on hand. It is also advisable to get these online from any Canadian pharmacy at a low price and home-delivered.

1. Pain relief: pain relief is a must as a temporary guard against hurt till you get a doctor’s opinion. Make sure you stock up on pain relief medication for unforeseen circumstances.
   1. Tylenol: Acetaminophen is best for people with low tolerance. It effectively treats headaches and fever along with typical aches and pain except for inflammation. It has fewer side effects, no stomach issues and is also safe for children.
   2. Ibuprofen: not suggested for children under 6months. Ibuprofen is the active element in most painkillers and is generally used when Acetaminophen does not work. It treats headache, dental pain, menstrual cramps, muscle aches, arthritis and also aids in reducing fever, minor aches. It is advisable for musculoskeletal injuries kike swollen and sprained joints. Try Advil or Motrin.
2. Fever Medicine: rising temperature is one of the symptoms that the body displays to make us realize that it is in fighting mode, trying to kill off the bacteria and infection virus that has a hard time surviving in the high temperature.

You can treat the minor and significant fever with Tylenol and ibuprofen. But aspirin and naproxen are equally effective in treating high temperatures.

Aspirin: aspirin is used to treat mild to moderate body aches and fever. It is salicylate and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). You must take one every 4 hours.

Naproxen is available as naproxen and naproxen sodium; the only difference is that naproxen sodium is easily absorbed in the body. Therefore, you must consult a doctor If the fever persists for three days after being treated with naproxen.

3. Digestive distress and diarrhea: heartburn is the most common stomach ailment which can be treated with tums and Rolaids, rich in calcium carbonate for neutralizing stomach acid.

Another great option to stock up on for stomach distress is Pepto Bismol for nausea, diarrhea, heartburn, indigestion, and upset stomach in general. Also, Imodium stops diarrhea and electrolytes to compensate for the body’s loss of water and electrolytes.

Dimenhydrinate nausea and vomiting is a standard treatment for motion sickness and dizziness. It may have a sedating effect.

Emetrol is carbonate-rich sugars that relieve nausea and vomiting. Not advisable for people with diabetes for high sugar content.

4. Wound care: it is essential to clean your wounds before applying any cream or solution directly to the skin. Use clean water and dry fresh towels to soak up the water for your injuries. You need a course of antibiotics to help keep the wound clean and increase the body’s immunity to any external pathogens that might enter through the opening.

Also, keep antiseptic solutions on hand to clean the wound and prevent infection. Hydrogen peroxide is the best solution for this purpose.

5. Women care: women have their monthly periods that release hormones that affect their actions, reactions, and emotions. PMS is the worst phase of the menstrual cycle. You can counter PMS with Midol complete, which helps with mood swings and menstrual pain.
6. Cough and cold: it is not possible to treat cold, but you may suppress and reduce the symptoms that accompany the cold. The symptoms include nose blockages due to mucus, cough, throat irritation.
   1. Nasal decongestant: Pseudoephedrine is the common nasal decongestant on the market which relieves mucus production and swollen/stuffy nose. Active ingredients that help ease nose congestion are oxymetazoline nasal, phenylephrine nasal, phenylephrine oral, pseudoephedrine. Check for these ingredients for immediate treatment.
   2. Cough suppressants: although coughing eliminates the mucus and infection outside, it causes sore throat and unanticipated reflex. Please treat it with dextromethorphan that helps suppress the nerve reflex of coughing and provides temporary relief. Try Triaminic Cold and Cough, Robitussin Cough and Chest Congestion DM, Vicks 44 Cough & Cold.
   3. Antihistamine: for wet/runny noses, you can utilize antihistamine with the only drawback of their sedating side effect.
7. Skin and allergies: usually set off by the body’s reaction to some external factor, allergies test your body’s tolerance. Skin rashes and itching are the common symptoms indicating an allergy. You can treat it by avoiding the allergy-causing substance or by following medications:

Oral antihistamine: Benadryl or diphenhydramine is the most common solution for treating allergies in your family. It would be best if you stockpiled on Benadryl because of its multiple implementations in curing and relieving body illnesses. Loratadine is an anti-drowsy antihistamine and helps treat seasonal allergies and nasal irritations.

You must also have fungal creams for athletes’ foot and yeast infections. Go for clotrimazole, miconazole, and butenafine hydrochloride. The top brands are Micatin and Lotrimin.

8. Other essentials: your medicine cabinet must not be limited to the mentioned essentials. You must make sure you include the following elements as well:
   1. Laxatives: constipation can lead to a stressful day and affect your mood. You must have some laxatives on hand to help you relieve yourself.
   2. Sleeping pills: a stressful day may cause you to lose sleep over minor issues. You might want to keep sleeping pills on hand to relax your senses and help you gain proper sleep at night. They also fight anxiety and stress.
   3. Immunity boosting supplements: vitamin C is the immunity booster that protects you without any side effects. Try to include zinc and probiotics as well.

Conclusion

Emergencies are immediate and unanticipated. You must be ready for what may come and have an excellent crisis response to help you get through the situation quickly. However, it would be best if you were entirely dependent on the above medications to cure you of any diseases. Take your doctor’s advice if you feel your condition is worsening.